User Reviews

Strengths: Very very light and no flex or bendyness that I had from my old bars

Weaknesses: -

Bottom Line:

Bought these off a mate with a stem for £43. A great, light bar withno flex or bend at all. Although, if you want some wide bars, these aren't the best. You do need to be careful not to over-tighten too

Being 245 pounds I was worried that I'd break any brand of carbon bars within a week so I went with the cheapest brand I could find. Jenson had a sale on the 31.8 ProTaper bars so I jumped on them. A year later I've crashed lots of time and put the full force of my weight on them and they don't flex and much less move! Even caught a few trees with them an not a single crack or dent. Coupled with Ergon GP-1 grips they reduce vibration to nearly zero. I love these bars!

I'm too heavy/aggressive for these bars apparently. I coupled this 25.4 mm bar withan FSA XC140 stem. The bars have large depressions in them where the 4-bolt FSA faceplate and the hollow stem come together against the bars. I'm disappointed as the aluminum ProTapers I had were excellent, as those I had on off-road motorcycles previously.

Weaknesses: None so far, except maybe wish they were a tad wider for more control at speed. I think carbon bars have a life span of about 2 years before you are supposed to replace them, but not sure.

Bottom Line:

I have owned a couple of carbon bars and I have had zero failures. I have had this bar for about 2 years now without any problems. I have take my bike off of 3-4 foot drops and I weigh about 200lbs. I don't know if I am lucky or if the reviewers on this product over-tightened their stuff on the bars. I typically run my shifters a little loose so when I crash they can move some rather than break. I know I can't go back to aluminum bars because they transmit every little vibration into your hands and wrist.

Weaknesses: Flexible enough to soak up small bumps, and energy when you stand & hammer...

Bottom Line:

Waaaay to flexy for me...scary flexy. Even when big-ring sprinting, there is a very noticeable amount of upwards flex, that seems to take the 'snap' out of your acceleration. I only used these for a couple of rides, then moved these bars on over to my single-speed commuter bike (dubbed the "Franken-bike") that only sees pavement. I understand the properties of carbon, in that it can be designed with prescribed amounts of inherent flex, but I don't see how these bars will ever last without catastrophic failure. I'm giving a decent value rating only because I got these bars on sale...no way would I pay full price for them. I ended up going with the Easton Monkeylite, which costs a bit more, but is a much better bar in my opinion.

I bought this bar just the other day...mounted it today...and broke it today. What a waste of money. Don't think that you are going to save by not buying easton if it is in fact a carbon fiber bar that you want. Spend the little extra, it will actually save you in the long run.

I went against my better judgement in ordering this product over the Easton Monkeylite. This carbon bar is a bit heavier than the Easton so I thought it would make a great riser bar for racing with a bit more strength for the trails in Tahoe. Well, while 10 miles into the Rim Trail this weekend my bar snapped off at the shifter. Thanks to a buddy with an ultra small tire pump we were able to rig a solution for the ride out. Then I discovered that Answer's warranty is predicated on inspection unlike Easton's lifetime warranty. I got the serious runaround from the Answer tech support - of all the tech support groups from all of the companies from which I've purchased product (e.g., Cane Creek, K2, Marzocchi) I've never run into such poor tech support and commitment to good faith. I'll never purchase another Answer product for that reason alone and I hope others understand that when you pay a premium for a product that you expect premium customer support - I would have received better support from Huffy!

this bar was transferred from my xc bike onto my new heckler frame. it was in great condition - no scratches. broke off at the shifter on a smooth 4 foot drop to fairly flat landing. would not happen with aluminum. obviously, don't freeride with carbon bars is the lesson here. it was great for xc, but my new raceface al bar is so much stiffer.

I got lucky - the bar broke off just inside the brake/shifter as I mounted the bike. Could have been devastating if it happened while descending. I wouldn't expect a bar to fail with only 6 months of regular XC and lite FR. It is possible that I mounted the levers too tight, or there was a sharp edge that dug into the bar, who knows. Regardless, do you want a bar that you can't trust? I'll be going back to aluminum.

Strengths: Light enough for a XC race and strong enough for a enduro, epic ride! Soaks up vibrations like a spong! Higher rise than other carbon handlebars. Cool Look!

Weaknesses: None so far.

Bottom Line:

Bought this 2 weeks ago and only rode 2 epic rides through the local mountains. I wanted the Easton Carbon Monkeylites but the answer have a higher raise. The difference between these and the stocked handlebar I had on my bike is significant. Its strong and comfortable after a long ride. Through rough terrains, soaks up vibrations like a spong making it easy on my hands and arms. I don't even need the bar ends installed because this is soo comfortable (my preference was alway to have bar ends even w/ riser handlebars). This has a slightly longer lenght and has a higher rise than other carbon handlebars, this is the way I like it because its better for control and balance.

So far 5 on value because its slightly cheaper than other well known carbons and 5 for overall rating because I haven't found any problems.

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I just received my Answer ProTAPER Carbon 720 AM from Pricepoint and I noticed a few things about the construction of the bar. I am not sure if others have noticed the same issues or if I am the only one, but I looked at my friends FSA carbon bar for comparison and the cut ends have an even thickne ... Read More »

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I'm looking at a pair of the 160gram Answer Protaper XC carbon riser bars and I am wondering if they are sturdy enough to handle me. I'm 6'2" 215lbs and riding a 29's singlespeed with a rigid fork.
Any thoughts?
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I just snapped a protaper carbon riser bar tonight and was wondering if any one has gotten a warranty replacement before. I looked on there web site they seamed to only have a generic warranty policy for there stuff that require a return authorization #. Unfortunately their customer service seams to ... Read More »